Dogs are animals of integrity. We have much to learn from them.
Category: Environment
Today, like every day, is a beautiful day of hope!
At 3.30pm US Mountain Time – 10.30pm UK time – the marriage service between me and Jean Susan will commence at the Episcopal Church in Payson, Arizona. It represents a wonderful day of hope.
But hope is something much bigger than a couple getting married. See it from this perspective. From the eyes of Shimon Schocken.
There’s that word ‘love’ again.
By Paul Handover
An inspirational film with an incredibly relevant message to us all.
I’m not going to yield to the temptation to take a personal view, real life is too complicated.
Just, if you can, watch the film.
Here’s the summary from Wikipedia. More background to the film is on the IMDB website including this review:
I saw this movie at Sundance, and it was brilliant. Beautiful shots, wonderful acting and such a moving story! It made me cry, it made me laugh (with Billy Boyd as much of the comic relief!), it made me want to see it again! Gaby Dellal’s direction was spot on, and the emotions from each of the characters was so true, that I wanted to cheer Frank (Peter Mullan)) on while swimming the English Channel and console him when he felt like he couldn’t do anything.
The only thing that I had an “issue” with, was that at a few moments, the Scottish accent was so thick that I missed what was said.
Some scenes from the film follow:
Finally, more on Peter Mullan, a very powerful actor.
By Paul Handover
Trying silence out.
Jon’s post yesterday about how silence in more general terms is so important for good mental health got me musing about this.
The first thing that struck me was how good dogs are at doing nothing. They are naturals at being in the present, especially when being in the present means nothing more than just laying around.
OK, one could come up with an intellectual rebuff of that. Dogs aren’t humans, don’t have to go to work, don’t have to struggle to make one’s way in the world, etc., etc. No argument in that, is there. Or is there?
Let’s take monks. Clearly being a monk is a spiritual vocation that appeals to a very small number of people. But they prove that the ‘work, rush around, struggle with life’ scene is NOT hard-wired into mankind, ultimately it is a choice.
Just read this about a day in the life of a monk at Downside Abbey. Don’t react to what you read, just go through the text and notice how frequently words of silence, faith, reflection and prayer come up.
Now I am not suggesting that we all give up our present daily lives and become monks, but I am underlining the importance of balance, and for the sake of our private and public worlds that probably means spending more time doing nothing!
Let’s take North American Indians, in this case the Navajo. They too understood the huge importance of meditation and prayer. This video is just 3:40 long – see if you have the stillness in your mind to watch and listen to this for these few, short minutes.
How did you do?
Now let’s go back to 1966, the year when Simon & Garfunkel released the song, words written by Paul Simon, The Sound of Silence, that later became a huge, global hit. Here are the lyrics – read them slowly and reflect on the meaning in those words.
The Sound Of Silence (3:08)
P. Simon, 1964Hello darkness, my old friend
I’ve come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silenceIn restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone
‘Neath the halo of a street lamp
I turn my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silenceAnd in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never shared
No one dared
Disturb the sound of silence“Fools,” said I, “you do not know
Silence like a cancer grows
Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you”
But my words like silent raindrops fell
And echoed in the wells of silenceAnd the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming
And the sign said “The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls
And whispered in the sound of silence
For your sake, and therefore for the sake of all those around you – find your silence.
A reminder that man is not, by a long way, the only smart species.
Any dog owner will tell you immediately how clever dogs are. Time and time again, so far as I am concerned, one’s estimation of the ‘smartness’ of a dog is underestimated- they are very smart animals. It applies to many other creatures on this planet.
But this article is about dolphins – bit of a theme at present. In a post published on the 24th, I wrote about how scientists are revealing the incredible closeness between the DNA of dolphins and humans.
An item appeared on the BBC website on the 22nd October. (If I’m not mistaken, I saw the BBC reference on Naked Capitalism, once again!). Here was the BBC article:
Wild dolphins in Australia are naturally learning to “walk” on water.
Six dolphins have now been seen mastering the technique – furiously paddling their tail fluke, forcing their body out and across the water.
The dolphins seem to walk on water for fun, as it has no other obvious benefit, say scientists working for the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society.
I pursued the story on the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS).
The main website for the WDCS UK is here but the specific article that made it to the BBC website is from the international arm of the WDCS, home page here. From that article, I quote:
WDCS’s Dr Mike Bossley has been observing Adelaide’s Port River dolphins in Australia for the past 24 years and has documented spectacular tail walking in two adult female dolphins, Billie and Wave. But, amazingly, it seems that tail walking is spreading through the Port River dolphin community with four other individuals now having been seen perfecting their walking techniques in recent months.
The spread of tail walking in this way might seem, on the surface (excuse the pun) like a bit of fun, but there is a serious and fascinating cultural aspect linked to these strange goings-on.
Wave’s calf Tallula, Bianca and her calf Hope, and calf Bubbles have all taken up the pastime, and the fun they have had doing so has been recently documented by volunteer WDCS dolphin photographers, Marianna Boorman and Barbara Saberton.
Tail walking is very rare in the wild and in thousands of hours of observation only one other dolphin has ever been observed tail walking in the Port River, and then only once. The Port Adelaide dolphins are now tail walking many times each day.
“Culture in the wider sense of the term, defined as ‘learned behaviour characteristic of a community’, is now frequently on show in the Port River”, says Dr Bossley. “This cultural behaviour is of great significance for conservation.
The article is well worth reading in full – once again the link is here.
Google also quickly found this blogsite of Gerhard Ritter, FRSASA, an Australian artist with a great oil painting of Dr Bossley (that’s a pic of the painting above).
Here’s what Gerhard wrote on his blog:
For the last few months I’ve been involved with the Faces of the Port project which paired ten artists with ten subjects to produce a set of portraits for display during the 2009 Port Adelaide Festival. My subject was noted dolphin researcher, Dr. Mike Bossley, and the result of our collaboration is this portrait.
The project was co-ordinated by the Port Adelaide Council and the exhibition of finished works will be on display during the festival at the Port Dock Railway Museum from Saturday 10 October.I enjoyed the project and was delighted to meet Mike. In a world that’s so preoccupied with profit and self agrandisment it is always a pleasure to find individuals who are motivated by higher ideals.
A lovely painting and a wonderful tribute to the man doing so much to increase our awareness and love for these magical animals. Now relax and be inspired …
By Paul Handover
And bring good people together.
On the 23rd October, I wrote a piece on Learning from Dogs about the innocence of dolphins and how some humans (not the correct term but it will do for now) sully the very soul of mankind by murdering these beautiful aquatic creatures.
Hopefully, the piece touched a folk with goodness in their hearts. Indeed, one such good person posted a lovely poem as a comment. That person was Sue of the Blogsite Dreamwalker’s Sanctuary. The poem deserved being made a post on here and so it’s an honour to do just that.
Our Song, by Sue Dreamwalker
We are the giants that swim beneath the waves
Will you help our babies save?
Why do you Hunt us, why do you Kill?
Do you not realise what part we do play.
Singing our songs each and every day.
Vibration is what your world is held in
We balance your ocean along with Dolphin.
Now once again we are chased from the deep
Your awareness of us is what we do seek.
So painful a death as we face the harpoon.
Our calves are left orphaned to swim alone.
Our carcass is butchered, how long can we survive?
Our only escape is dive, dive, dive.
But connected to you we breathe the same air
Please listen to our despair.
For Our Song in lament we plead with you all.
For soon no longer will you hear our call.
Thanks Sue.
And do tune in next Monday (1st November) – another lovely story about dolphins.
By Paul Handover
Prof. Lovelock is a most amazing thinker.
This makes fascinating listening and thinking. I am referring to the BBC4 programme, Eureka Moment, first broadcast in March 2010.
Some frightening stuff to reflect on, however, he is a tremendously positive person. His level of thinking and orginality is breath taking. Painful and not pleasant, but a snapshot of a possible outcome.
Interesting from a David Hawkins point of view to measure his level of integrity on the scale of human consciousness that Hawkins developed.
I’m delighted to see that the BBC still has a huge amount available about Lovelock’s claims. A small extract from here.
The man who achieved global fame for his theory that the whole earth is a single organism now believes that we can only hope that the earth will take care of itself in the face of completely unpredictable climate change.
Interviewed by Today presenter John Humphrys, videos of which you can see below, he said that while the earth’s future was utterly uncertain, mankind was not aware it had “pulled the trigger” on global warming as it built its civilizations.
Here’s a video, taken quite recently, of the Professor explaining his approach to his science.
But whatever, don’t lose heart. Keep the faith in a better future, as Paul wrote yesterday.
By Jon Lavin
Dolphin DNA very close to Human DNA
I had real trouble in writing yesterday’s Post about the appalling slaughter of the dolphins in Japan. Perhaps there was something out there in the ether that recognised the pain that I was sharing with so many thousands of other dolphin lovers.
Because while I was writing the article, into my in-box came something from Save Japan Dolphins about how close dolphins are to mankind, in DNA terms.
The article opened thus:
Seema Kumar, of Discovery Channel Online, writes that scientists have discovered that the genetic make-up of dolphins is amazingly similar to humans. They’re closer to us than cows, horses, or pigs, despite the fact that they live in the water.
David Busbee of Texas A&M University is then quoted as saying:
Busbee says, “If we can show that humans are similar to dolphins, and anything that endangers dolphins is an equal concern for humans, it may be easier to persuade governments to keep oceans clean.”
And make it easier for all honest and loving people to join the fight to stop that most dastardly murdering of dolphins in Taiji, Japan.
If you do nothing else, at least sign up to receiving the latest news from Save Japan Dolphins – which is how this Post was conceived.
By Paul Handover
This just makes me weep!
Watch.
Read and be Educated.
In Japan, fishermen round up and slaughter hundreds and even thousands of dolphins and other small whales each year.In the small fishing village of Taiji, entire schools of dolphins are driven into a hidden cove after a prolonged chase. Once trapped inside the cove, the fishermen kill the dolphins, slashing their throats with knives or stabbing them with spears. The water turns red with their blood, and the air fills with their screams.
Take action.
By going here.
Not for your sake, not for my sake but for the sake of this magnificent creature.
I tried to insert a picture of dolphins being slaughtered in Japan but just couldn’t handle the negativity that the picture sent out.
Read this and focus on the beauty of these creatures – and let that inspire you to take action. Please.
By Paul Handover
Celebrating the beautiful Planet Earth and a stream running through a field
Today is Blog Action Day and the theme is water. It seemed a worthwhile cause so Learning from Dogs has joined the many thousands of Bloggers ‘speaking’ to millions of combined readers.
I have no idea what aspects of water will be covered by all those many authors but Blog Action Day sets the theme thus:
Why Water?
Right now, almost a billion people on the planet don’t have access to clean, safe drinking water. That’s one in eight of us who are subject to preventable disease and even death because of something that many of us take for granted.
Access to clean water is not just a human rights issue. It’s an environmental issue. An animal welfare issue. A sustainability issue. Water is a global issue, and it affects all of us.
I’m staying over in SW England at present with friends who live in a beautiful part of the County of Devon and that means plenty of lovely walks. Just a few days ago, the setting sun was glorious across the green rolling hills that are so typical of South Devon.
But this day is about water. That bountiful gift from a wonderful planet perfectly positioned from our Sun.
Water. The essence of life.
By Paul Handover
More from the BBC that seemed worth sharing with readers.
From here, an extract:
Work to line the top of an escape shaft with metal tubing is expected to finish in the next few hours at the mine where 33 men are trapped in northern Chile.
A winch and pulley will be installed and the shaft tested before the rescue begins, it is hoped, on Wednesday.
Amid the final preparations for the rescue the Chilean health minister said some of the miners were gallantly insisting they should be last to leave.
And some wonderful pictures on the BBC website here.
Learning from Dogs 